iHit the Quan
by GEM1588
Summary: Freshman year at Caltech. AU.
1. Chapter 1

This is what happens when I get stressed and angry. If you can get past all the cheerleading terminology, I think you might find my pain enjoyable.

Freddie-centric /iCarly based but also mentions of characters from Victorious and Drake and Josh . Bonus points if you can figure out which _other_ non-Nickelodeon shows are crossed in as well.

Disclaimer: Alternate Universe – AU warning

Dedication: For Kayla 'cause I know you will read between the lines...

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 **i paper chase then vanish**

Freddie Benson walked the campus of the California Institute of Technology, a place better known as Caltech. Today marked the beginning of the third week of his freshman year and Freddie was already starting to feel the pressure of college weighing down on him. It didn't help that his GPA directly affected his scholarship.

"Hey Freddie!" A lone girl waved at him as she past.

"Shaaa-nnnnon!" he called back giving her a wide grin.

"Don't forget about lunch," she reminded him.

"Pizza is my favorite," he replied keeping eye contact with her for an extra second before glancing down at an incoming text message. It was from Maddie, one of his new study-buddies, about meeting her at her dorm instead of the library - which was perfectly fine by him.

You see Freddie had several goals this year. Most of which were directly related to academics and his future career but there was one additional thing he added to the list. It was more of a fantasy, not something that would ever happen to a guy like him, but there was always hope. And this was college, so perhaps the possibility of FINALLY being popular wasn't as low as he calculated it to be.

It was a shallow thing to want – and Freddie knew that. But for once in his life he just wanted a taste of the other side of the social spectrum, the side with killer parties and hot girls. The side where his phone buzzed constantly with texts and posts he made on social media got thousands of 'likes' instantly.

Was it too much to ask to leave his dork side back in Seattle and start fresh here in California?

He'd been working out, got a new haircut and new clothes. He given up those parts of himself that could possibly be considered 'nerdy' – which was pretty much everything he loved. But sacrifices had to be made. Here at Caltech he was no longer "the guy behind the camera on that web show". Here he was going to stand on his own and not rely on his association with the two attractive girls who starred in said series to score dates and event invites.

Yeah. It was a pretty unlikely pinnacle to ever achieve.

Even so, Freddie decided to follow the advice bestowed upon him by a certain individual whom he looked up to tremendously. Her advice was simple:

 _Don't be afraid to introduce yourself. Talk to everyone and remember their names – it means more than you think._

This had been easier than he expected. As freshmen everyone was eager to meet new people and the campus atmosphere provided plenty of opportunity for recreation. Which is the most likely reason his phone was buzzing again with another text about movie night hosted by someone he hadn't met yet (but somehow he'd gotten included on a group text) which is probably because he handed out his phone number like free coffee during orientation.

Holding the door open for a few other students while adding the date and time of that event to his calendar, Freddie prepared himself for his next class. It was the only elective he had this semester and while a part of him wanted to stack on the tough classes to prove he could handle the technical course load of being a computer science major, when he saw Viral Advertising listed he knew he had to enroll. When his mother saw his schedule, she assumed he did it for the easy A that he would obviously earn to help his grade point average. Freddie wouldn't argue that point since he spent most of high school as the tech guy on a web show but he honestly just wanted to be a part of something involving creativity and use other side of his brain.

The class hadn't been too difficult. It did require a good deal of research using the latest social media trends but that was actually pretty fun. As he took his seat in class beside his roommate, Ethan – who had already developed a serious crush on the girl who usually sat right in front of them – he checked his phone one last time before shutting it off for class.

Their professor entered the room and Freddie booted up his iPad ready to bookmark trending websites.

"Good morning everyone," Dr. Franklin greeted the class. "It's time to assign the class project. This project will be worth half your grade. Consider it your mid-term exam."

 _Whoa_. Freddie inhaled sharply. A project worth half your grade? This was serious stuff.

"The instructions are being e-mailed to you right now," he tapped the screen of his laptop. "And your topics are right here." He removed a handful of envelopes from his satchel. "If you have any questions, you know how to reach me." With that he came through the rows, holding the envelopes out like a deck of cards, allowing the students to select.

Freddie opened the e-mailed assignment and began scanning down the criteria. From what he could tell it didn't look too bad, a one minute thirty second video of one of the school's athletic teams.

Beside him, Ethan was still playing Minecraft and didn't even bother to look up as he reached for an envelope. While Freddie eyed the remaining envelope with a long sigh. _Please don't let it be football._ He wasn't a sports guy – in fact the only sport he really knew anything about was fencing – and Caltech did not have team.

"Okay, that does it for today," the professor concluded. "Contact information for the coaches is inside. Please get this done as timely as possible. I will make myself available to review first and second edits but after that you are on your own."

"Men's Diving Team," Ethan read from his card. "Ugh. What did you get?"

"Hold on a sec," Freddie said as he tried to open the sealed envelope, only to give himself a nice paper cut in the process. Sucking on his finger, he finished opening the card one handed.

"Varsity Cheerleading Squad," he read trying to contain his excitement.

"What!" Ethan tried to grab the card from him. "You have to trade with me."

"Hell No!" Freddie exclaimed. This was quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to him.

 **Hit the Quan on her make her boyfriend panic**

It was quarter of five in the morning when Freddie got to the track. Coach Shay had texted him that conditioning began at five am sharp and that he should be ready and waiting. Freddie removed his video camera from his bag and began setting up. It was still dark and without the proper lighting (he'd grown too accustomed to working in the studio) he wasn't sure what the footage would look like.

A tall, thin man with wearing a bright orange warm up suit approached him. Down one of the legs, Caltech, was written in bold black print. Across the front of the jacket the name _Spencer_ was embroidered.

"Fred Benson?" he asked, approaching with an outstretched hand. The other contained a liter sized water bottle.

"Coach Shay?" Freddie asked, reaching out for handshake.

"Call me Spencer," the guy grinned. "The team is almost ready." He pointed down the track to a group of students, clearly not happy to be awake at this hour. "What I was thinking…," he began launching into a cinematic overview of how he expected Freddie to film the team.

"They're just going to be running laps?" Freddie asked glancing over at the girls who were wearing yoga pants, hoodies and running shoes.

"We start with five miles," Spencer nodded. "Then we up the cardio with cheer jacks and high kicks before we stretch."

"So they're not actually going to be cheerleading?"

"Conditioning is the MOST important part of cheerleading," Spencer informed him.

"Yeah, of course." Freddie wasn't about to get into an argument with the coach but he doubted he'd be able to use any footage from today in his project.

"Everyone up!" Spencer yelled to the moaning squad.

Freddie saw a bunch of guys dragging themselves over to the starting line as well.

"Twenty laps! Let's count them down!"

"One!" the group half-shouted as they began jogging.

Freddie waited until they were closer than began filming the pack as they ran past him. Taking a brief census, he happened to notice that there seemed to be a lot more guys than girls.

"Uh, Spencer," he asked. "Is that the whole team?"

"Except for the alternates," Spencer folded his arms and yelled, "Gibby! We're not taking a walk on the beach. Move!"

Freddie watched as the largest of the guys, tall and thick, proceeded to give Spencer the finger.

"I SAW THAT!" Spencer yelled back.

But Freddie noticed that Gibby did actually begin to speed up a little.

He kept the camera on filming them running. After the first mile the pack began to separate as most of the team fell behind the five fastest runners.

"Dark hair, with the blue streak, wearing the combat boots," Spencer pointed to the girl in the lead. "That's Jade West. This is her fourth year on the team. Great athlete. Mean as hell but a quality cheerleader."

Freddie took note of the "mean as hell" disclaimer.

"Guy next to her is Beck Oliver. She made him tryout two years ago. He says he hates it and threatens to quit every practice. But he never does," Spencer gave Freddie a knowing smile. "They're my captains."

"Blonde guy, with the pink shirt is Fred," Spencer continued. "He's a nationally ranked gymnast and until this year was my only double full."

Freddie didn't bother asking what a double full was.

"Until they came," the coach pointed to a pair of blonde haired girls wearing matching racer back tank tops and compression shorts. "The Puckett twins. Sam and Mel. They are practically cheerleading royalty."

 _Cheerleading Royalty? Did that really exist?_

"Top flyers in Level Five U18 All-Stars," Spencer began to swoon. "They've won Nationals four times. Been to World's three times and won it twice. They're absolutely amazing. We are so incredibly lucky they decided to come here. Maybe we'll finally get a bid to NCAA Nationals."

Freddie sighed. This wasn't turning out exactly how he envisioned it. Where were the short skirts and midriffs? The eye candy with the eager smiles and perky attitudes? Because right now he was watching a bunch of very sweaty people in workout gear run around a track.

But Spencer continued his mini-biographies of the team members. "That's Tori Vega, she's a sophomore. Great Jumps. Great flexibility. Her sister, Trina tries out every year and she's not bad but she's a heavy," Spencer nodded as though Freddie was supposed to understand what that meant. "It's her senior year and Tori told me that she's been working hard to lose weight. When she stepped in the scale at try outs, she was down ten pounds…"

 _Wait a minute. Did he just say there was a scale at try outs?_

"…but, there's no way any of these guys can lift her. Not even Gibby…..," Spencer paused and yelled at the big guy to keep going.

Gibby responded by stopping to moon Spencer before continuing around the track.

"I felt bad for her so I gave her a spot as an alternate," Spencer confided. "Now I'm praying that no one gets injured 'cause I really don't know what I'm gonna do if I have to put her in the routine."

A red-haired girl jogged by and waved to them. The Coach waved back.

"That's Cat Valentine," Spencer shook his head. "I honestly thought she was going to flunk out last year. She's not exactly the brightest bulb but she's back for her sophomore year so I guess I'm not giving her enough credit."

Spencer continued to name the members of the team:

"That one is Shelby Marx, used to be a boxer – can you believe that? But after her eighth or ninth concussion the doctors forced her to retire. Certainly shocked the hell out of me when she came to tryouts. She is one strong woman – let me tell ya."

"Gray sweats with the purple unicorn hoodie is Megan Parker."

Freddie looked at the tiny girl who could pass for a sixth grader.

"She's never cheered before but she did pretty well in tryouts. Not to mention she's only seventy five pounds. I expect her brothers, Drake and Josh," Spencer pointed to two guys running side by side clearly arguing about something. "To throw her around like a beach ball. Actually, that reminds me. Drake is a deejay, he puts together our music. He has some ideas about the soundtrack for the project."

"Okay?" Freddie shook his head again. A ninety second clip didn't exactly need a 'soundtrack' but whatever.

A pack of three guys came running by, all with iPods strapped to their arms and earbuds shoved deep into their ears. They wore various Caltech tee shirts and jogging pants and were completely drenched in sweat.

"Three," they grunted as they went past.

"That's Socko, Tyler and Ryder," Spencer advised pointing to each of them. "They're definitely works in progress but I couldn't ask for more dedicated athletes," he nodded with approval.

Freddie bobbed his head in agreement. Clearly he was getting more information than he needed.

"There's Andre!" Spencer yelled at a dark skinned guy jogging past. His braids bounced with each step as he slowed down to sip from a water bottle. "C'mere," the coach waved him over and Freddie noticed he looked relieved to take a break.

"This is Fred Benson, our videographer for the season."

 _Uhhhhh_ , Freddie stretched his hand out, wanting to address the alleged duration of his project but Spencer kept talking and Andre was wiping his sweaty hands on his pants.

"This is Andre Harris. Can you believe this guy was the starting wide receiver for his high school football team?"

"You're a long way from the end zone," Freddie replied as the two shook hands, wondering why this guy wasn't running laps with the football team.

Andre laughed. "Nice to meet you, man. We'll catch up later for my post-workout interview."

As Andre was heading back out to his lane, another athlete came running off the track and toward Spencer. His cheeks were bright red and he was breathing heavily. Then he suddenly veered right and directly into the fence.

"Hey, are you…?" Spencer began but he never finished.

Freddie swung his camera around in time to get a shot of the sun rising in the distance and the dude vomiting onto the track.

"Ewwww!" A dark haired girl grimaced as she detoured around her puking teammate and kept going around the track until she got to Freddie. Spencer had made his way over to the guy and was using the liter of water in his hand to wash the vomit off the track.

"He does that EVERY time we run," the girl informed Freddie, who was now filming everyone's reaction to their sick teammate. It seemed that the consensus was to yell "Nevel" and his slap some part of his body as they ran past.

"I'm Carly," the girl beside him continued.

"Fred," he replied keeping his eyes on the scene ahead.

Instead of slapping him, Jade opted to stop and literally kick him in the ass. Then the guy in the pink shirt, the other Fred, actually jumped on his back.

Spencer yelled at everyone to get back on the track but it was clear that he really had no control over the team. They were all laughing and jumping on each other. A couple of the girls were now up on shoulders and there were the beginnings of some chicken fights.

Freddie kept watching as the scene turned into water being thrown and people chasing each other across the field. The chaos ensued for a good twenty minutes as Spencer tried desperately to maintain order. It wasn't until Jade screamed at everyone to "Line the fuck up," that anyone made a move to return to practice.

Once they were in lines it was easier to get good shots of everyone. Jade and Beck were out in front leading the second part of the workout. He brought the camera around for close up of Jade, who grunted an irritated, "Get that fucking camera out of my face."

 _She really is a bitch. How can she be a cheerleader?_

Instead, he got shots of the rest of the team, focusing mainly on the girls. The Puckett twins were very responsive to the camera, giving him flirty smiles and coy winks. Tori made sure to show off her flexibility when he came by and Cat, gave him the same upbeat smile and wave that she had earlier. Megan was sitting with her brothers and the three of them were all fighting over something that had to do with money someone 'borrowed'. As amused as he was at the sibling rivalry, Freddie skipped over them knowing it wasn't relevant to his project. Next was Shelby Marx and her series of one-armed push-ups – which made him feel as though he really needed to start working out a little more. And last was Carly, who waved him away claiming she looked 'sweaty and gross'.

At the end of the workout, Freddie was packing up his equipment while Spencer had the team pulled into a huddle. It was as he was zipping up the bag that Drake came over asking for his cell number so they could talk music.

Exhausted and hungry, Freddie recited the digits without a second thought. He'd get this straightened out later and besides, maybe this guy Drake would have something cool to use for his project.

But for now, Freddie Benson was back to his original goal checklist. And he took out his phone to check for texts from his new female friends.

* * *

Thanks for checking out the first chapter. Be sure to share your thoughts.  
-Gemma


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to all who read & reviewed. I apologize for the AU and OOC-ness in advance - now let the ranting continue...  
**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 **iHeart Memphis, but i also love dancing  
** **  
**After spending less than an hour editing, Freddie played his project video for Ethan. He'd decided to go the parody route and included the not so brilliant moments. His roommate could barely watch the whole thing he was laughing so hard.

"That is definitely an A," Ethan patted Freddie on his back. "The part with the fat guy mooning you is freaking awesome. How did you ever get a shot like that?"

"It was all him," Freddie admitted. "How's yours going?"

"I'm still waiting on an e-mail reply from the coach," Ethan shrugged.

"E-mail?" Freddie chuckled.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "He's not exactly tech-savvy."

As Ethan replayed the video, Freddie's phone buzzed with a test from Valerie, aka mystery host of the movie night he attended. Valerie was cute, personable and made it known she was definitely single. From her current text, she was bored and looking for someone to 'hang out' with her. Freddie replied that he had just finished his project and if she wanted she could come by and get a preview.

She texted back that she might drop by 'later' and Freddie, being no stranger to getting blown off by girls, simply shrugged and didn't give it another thought. After watching his video a few more times, he and Ethan settled in for an afternoon of video games.

It might have been a half hour later when there was a knock on the door. Figuring it was someone from their hall and not wanting to stop the game to get up Freddie yelled, "Door's open."

The last person he expected to see was Valerie.

She was wearing a long flowing skirt and cropped tank top which showed off her pierced navel.

"If you're busy…," she began.

"NO!" Freddie heard himself say with a little more excitement than necessary. "I mean, me and Ethan are just taking a study break."

"Oh," Valerie stood there, looking uncertain as to whether or not she was going to stick around.

"But, uh, Ethan was getting ready to head out to the library."

"Huh?" Ethan briefly glanced at his roommate before returning his attention to the monitor.

"You said you had homework, remember?" Freddie said staring down his roommate.

"Yeah," Ethan reluctantly agreed. "I guess I should do that now."

There was an awkward moment when Freddie introduced Ethan and Valerie as Ethan was packing up his messenger bag. Both boys being new to this whole roommate thing, Freddie left it at– I'll text you – to let Ethan know when it was okay to come back.

His roommate wasn't happy about it and Freddie knew that he would definitely owe Ethan – especially if anything _actually_ happened.

"Tell me about your project," Valerie asked, taking off her animal print jacket and making herself at home on Freddie's bed.

Freddie gave her a brief overview as he sat at the desk loading the video.

"Cheerleading?" Valerie laughed. "Caltech doesn't even have a football team!"

"They don't?" Freddie replied. _I guess that's why Andre was running with the cheerleaders._

"So what sport do they cheer for?" Valerie asked.

"I don't know." Funny, after spending all time with Spencer – Freddie never even thought about asking that. Not that it mattered.

With his laptop positioned on the bed, he laid next to Valerie, who was on her stomach. Her legs were bent at the knees with her bare feet pointed to the ceiling. Her toes were painted bright orange and she had a tattoo on her ankle.

"Nice ink," Freddie commented and they spoke briefly about the meaning behind the Chinese symbol she had tattooed on her. With each sentence, Freddie noticed she moved a little closer to him and he returned the favor. When the conversation paused, Freddie took the opportunity to play the video.

Valerie loved it. She laughed through the entire thing and proclaimed that Jade's single line: "Get that fucking camera out of my face," was priceless.

Valerie moved her hand to the keyboard, typing in a web address. As Freddie's eyebrows lifted in disbelief, the girl next to him explained that it was her brother's account.

Even so, porn was porn – and watching it with a female.

This was fucking awesome!

As she scrolled through the options, asking Freddie's preferences he was frantically trying to remember where he stashed the box of condoms he brought with him. Obviously now was not the time to fucking forget where he put them. As he selected an orgy video (hoping Val would get the hint) he got up to turn off the lights, and check his dresser drawer.

Thankfully that's where they were.

Soon to be opened.

The movie started and right from the first second, he was bombarded with bare pussy. Not one girl in the entire scene had a stitch of clothing on any part of their body. He was grateful to be watching with his groin pressed into the mattress. Maybe Valerie wouldn't notice how pathetically turned on he was in less than ten seconds.

But she did notice.

Somehow.

Despite his best efforts to keep his hips from shifting and creating the familiar friction his body craved.

She leaned closer, her chin resting near the cap of his shoulder. "You want to fuck?" she whispered, her words soft and seductive.

"Yeah?" Freddie said as controlled as he could manage.

"Yeah," she smiled back.

That was all the consent Freddie needed before rolling her over onto her back and pressing his mouth to hers. He felt a desperate tug as she struggled to get his pants undone. Leaning on one elbow he let his fingers skim down the curve of her breasts before assisting her in unbuttoning his jeans. As she reached down into his boxers, he lifted his body enough to get her skirt up to the top of her thighs.

There were no panties in sight.

Their arms twisted together as their hands frantically attempted to stimulate each other. Freddie winced as she caught some of his hair. He heard her suck in a breath as he drove his fingers inside her with a little too much force.

"Not so hard," she panted.

"Sorry," Freddie agreed, instantly slowing his hands down. His lips however, slipped away from hers as he kissed down her neck and into her cleavage.

There was a rough yank on his cock.

It almost hurt.

Freddie hissed out a breath and let it go. Thoughts of having sex over-ruled any logic his brain had at the moment. With her shirt pulled up to her neck, Freddie nuzzled against the sheer fabric of her bra as he slid his arm around her back to pop the hooks. He managed to get the first one undone but the other wasn't cooperating.

Then her fingernails scratched against the shaft of his cock.

"Ugh," Freddie flinched.

"Sorry!" Valerie apologized. "I just want you so bad!"

Freddie wanted to say something in reply but it took several seconds to recover from the unexpected clawing of his most sensitive area. As he helped her get his jeans off, Freddie exhaled once more trying to get past the discomfort. He got to his feet and reached over to his dresser.

"You don't have to use anything, I'm on the pill."

"I don't mind," Freddie replied, tearing open the box and removing two condoms.

"You know it feels better without them right?" Valerie cooed, reclining back and spreading her legs so Freddie could see every inch of her. Deep pink contrasted with her pale skin. Her clit was rounded and swollen with hints of her arousal reflecting the light from the laptop's monitor.

"I'll take your word for it." He quickly ripped the wrapper open and began to slide the condom over his penis, fairly certain he'd only make it about thirty seconds before finishing.

"You've never done it without one?"

"Nope." Freddie finished and crawled back onto the bed, dragging his covered cock over her slit.

"Even with your girlfriend?"

"Never had one," Freddie mumbled. It was a sore subject and one he wasn't about to discuss right now. He slipped his fingers back inside her, delicately drawing circles in her vagina.

"Mmmmmmm," she moaned licking his ear as he slide inside her. "You never had a girlfriend, huh?"

Was this girl for real? Freddie couldn't believe she was still talking. He moved his hips a little harder, her eyes fluttered closed and he thought that was the end of the conversation.

"So you're a relationship virgin?" She was sucking on his neck now. Heavily as though she was going to consume him.

"I guess," Freddie replied, wishing she would just shut the hell up. She was starting to get into his head, which was having an adverse effect on his libido.

"That's so sad!" She continued nibbling at his shoulder.

Now as much as Freddie wanted sex – he was starting to get pissed. Being polite and well-mannered, he wasn't exactly the kind of guy who was going to call her out right there on the spot but she was being kinda rude.

Cupping her face in his hands, he decided the best course of action was to start kissing her again. It would keep her from talking and help him get his head back in the game. It worked at first, the thrashing of her wet tongue around his mouth as her body tensed up squeezing his cock dulled the moderately insulting words spewed moments earlier.

Freddie was just starting to enjoy things again when she ripped her mouth from him.

"Hold on a sec," she said twisting her body so she could look at the laptop. "This is my favorite part!"

"What!" Freddie gasped incredulously, as his head sank down into her chest. "This is fucked up," he muttered to himself.

"You gotta watch this," she tapped his shoulder. "Seriously! Look!"

Freddie sank his full weight onto her as he curled his body to see what was so great that she interrupted sex to watch. One of the female stars was mid-orgasm.

"Did you see that?" Valerie asked excitedly. "She squirted! She actually squirted!"

"I saw it," Freddie replied dryly. His mind was wandering in all directions and he was having trouble focusing.

"I would LOVE to come like that," she sighed wishfully. "I've been with a ton of guys and they've all tried but none of them to seem to have what it takes – you know?"

Freddie didn't reply. What could he possibly say?

"Have you ever made anyone come like that?" Valerie asked, running her hand through his dark hair as she thrust her hips upward.

"No," Freddie admitted as he sat back on his heels pulling out of her.

"What's wrong?" Valerie asked as she sat up, looking completely baffled by his actions. "I know you didn't finish yet."

"This isn't working for me," Freddie answered taking off the condom and dropping into the trash.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind," Freddie scooped up his pants from the floor. "Let's just watch the movie."

"Are you sure?" Valerie was on the bed, legs dangling toward the floor, looking thoroughly confused.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Oh good!" she clapped her hands together as she reached for the laptop. "I'm gonna go back a couple scenes because there's this one part…."

Freddie sank down on the bed beside her, texting Ethan the all clear. He was mentally crossing Valerie off his special friends list.

 **i done took off on em, i don't plan on landing**

Freddie sat in Dr. Franklin's office, watching the man's facial expressions as he played Freddie's first edit of his project video. Benson's smile started to fade as his professor did not burst into laughter after the first fifteen seconds. He became downright nervous after the next thirty seconds when the professor didn't even crack a smile. By the end of the video, Freddie was riddled with anxiety. _Why didn't he laugh?_

Everyone else who saw it thought it was great. Freddie knew if he put it out on the internet it was the kind of video that would go viral and get a million hits. He was sure that if he made it a web series, he'd get a few thousand subscribers. Freddie KNEW what people wanted to watch so why was Dr. Franklin sitting there with that look on his face, the one that came with a positive comment followed by at least three negative statements.

"Fred, I think you did a sound job editing the segments together," Dr. Franklin began.

Freddie stiffened in the chair. _There was the compliment._ His foot tapped as he waited for the criticism to begin.

"…but I think you may have misunderstood the assignment."

 _Uh, nooooo_. Freddie disagreed.

"An effective marketing campaign promotes the product in a good way. For example, if you were trying to sell tee shirts – even if they were ugly – you'd find the most attractive models you could to wear them."

Freddie nodded. That made sense.

"What I'm asking you to do is exactly that."

"But that's what I did," Freddie told the professor. "I added humor to…"

"Nudity and vomiting are not amusing. They are juvenile and directed at a very small percentage of the population."

Freddie did not like the professor's review. He felt that Dr. Franklin's opinion of the video was just that – his opinion. "My target audience is the college demographic. From my field study of CalTech freshmen, this video was very well received."

"Were any of those freshmen, _cheerleaders_?"

"Uh," Freddie thought for a minute. "I don't believe so."

"Perhaps you should conduct a field study with the appropriate target audience." Dr. Franklin sat back in his chair with a smug look on his face.

That meant Freddie's next step was to show the video to the cheerleading team and get their input – no wait – FILM their reaction as they watched the video. That way he could validate his advertising campaign and make his point.

On his way out of the professor's office he scrolled through his phone. He remembered seeing a text from that guy Drake and he hadn't bothered opening it since he'd already finished the video. Finding the text he opened the message and looked at the list of recipients include in the blast.

He read through the names; Evil Jade, Twin 1, Twin 2, Cat V, S. Marx, Megan is a Demon, Coach S, Carly, Fat Trina, Tori V, BeckO, Fred, Gibby, Socko, Tyler, Ryder, Harris. A, Mascot Rob, Puking Nevel and finally NinjaJosh before getting to the actual message.

 _Great news. Becks dad will be here Friday for a tumbling clinic. Be in the gym by 7pm._

He had plans for Friday night – so there was no way he was going to stop by the gym to show them the video. He also wasn't going to wake up at 4 am again either. There were a bunch of replies to Drake's message which Freddie didn't read but he added his own comment.

 _Video is finished so if you want to see it text me back._

Hitting send he shoved the phone back in his pocket, only to have it vibrate a split second later. Text after text came flooding in as the entire squad replied in a matter of minutes. Even the coach sent a reply with a proposed time and place for everyone to meet – which happened to be in less than an hour.

Freddie didn't have any more classes that day and so he sent a confirmation to everyone. From there he went back to his dorm where Ethan was diligently working on his homework.

"Hey," Freddie gave him a nod.

"Hey," Ethan replied back as he turned halfway around in his chair. "Valerie came by looking for you."

"Oh yeah?" Freddie dropped his bag on the floor and grabbed his deodorant from the top of his dresser.

"She said to tell you to that didn't text you back because she messed up her phone but she'll be at her dorm later if you want to stop by."

Freddie rolled his eyes. _Didn't text me back? I never texted her._ "I got stuff to do so she's SOL tonight."

"Seriously?" Ethan looked at him skeptically. "You're not going over there?"

Freddie knew his roommate had virtually no sexual experience at all and would drop everything for an open invitation like that. "Nope," Freddie replied. "I'm meeting up with the cheerleading squad."

"OOoooo," Ethan's eyes widened. "Need a wingman?"

"Yeah sure." Freddie let out a light laugh. It wasn't like anything was going to happen anyway.

As they walked across campus toward the athletic complex, Freddie bitched to Ethan about how Dr. Franklin had criticized his video. He was still complaining when they reached the Athletic Director's office. The door was open and it looked like everyone was already there.

The room was huge with a giant flat screen mounted to the far wall with a white board on either side. There was large conference table with twenty chairs and still enough space for the AD's desk, credenza, six filing cabinets and a stack of extra chairs.

Two coolers filled with bottled sports drinks were on either side of the doorway and from the amount of perspiration, Freddie figured that the team had just finished running.

"Hey man," Drake greeted him, with a choreographed handshake that took Freddie a second to learn.

"Hey Drake. This is my roommate, Ethan." Freddie introduced the pair.

Drake nodded at Ethan but immediately returned his attention to Freddie. "Never heard back from you about the music. Did you get my text? "

"Nah, man," Freddie lied. "When did you send it?" he pretended to check his phone while Drake verified he had the right phone number. Then after a quick round of hellos and a few more introductions of Ethan to some of the team members, Freddie motioned to his roommate it was time set up to play video on the flat screen.

Around them assorted conversations took place. Freddie glanced over his shoulder and caught one of the twins watching him with scrutinizing eyes. Beside her was Jade, glaring at him with equal intensity. He wondered what their problem was.

When everything was ready, Spencer took the helm calling everyone to their seats.

"Now remember," he told the team. "It's not about being the best…"

"But it is..," one of the twins interrupted. "It is about being the best.

"Sam, I know you want to win this year but…," Spencer began.

"I want to win too," Mel announced from her seat next to Jade.

"If there's anyone here who _doesn't_ want to win, then they should get the fuck out now," the midnight haired cheer captain stated.

"Thank you, Jade," Spencer said through gritted teeth as the twins bumped fists with her. "What I was trying to say is that's it's not about being the best. It's about being better than you were yesterday. And I think today's practice is going to pave the way for great things this season."

Freddie noticed that the majority of the squad did not seem convinced.

"Come on guys," Josh clapped his hands together. "We can do this. Come on guys…" he stuck his fist out in front of him as he looked around for support. "Don't leave me hanging!"

Socko, Tyler, Ryder and Drake all put their hands in too.

"Tech on 3 – ready."

"One. Two. Three."

"Tech!"

"Well that sucked," Ethan whispered to Freddie as the half-hearted attempt at team spirit completely flopped. Freddie shrugged he didn't care if the team won or not, his only concern was his project grade.

Spencer seemed to give up for the moment and turned the floor over to Freddie. The tech guy didn't have much to say other than, "Hope you like it," before hitting play.

Within seconds the team was in stitches, laughing and howling so hard that it echoed. Camera in hand, Freddie filmed their response eager to show it to his know-it-all professor. When the video ended, Spencer had tears in his eyes.

"Well done, Fred." He patted Benson's shoulder. "I think that was exactly what we all needed."

"Thanks," Freddie grinned.

"Alright, let's calm down." Spencer turned to the team, who were still making fun of each other. "We're going to watch the real video now."

"That was the real video," Freddie told Spencer.

"What are you talking about?" Spencer replied. "That was…"

"Funny," Freddie finished his sentence.

"I was going to say unprofessional," Spencer frowned. "I can't show that to the alumni."

"Why not?" Freddie was confused at the mixed review.

"Look," Spencer pulled him aside. "In case you didn't know, the athletic department has a very small budget. We barely get any money and so we rely HEAVILY on donations from alumni to fund our program."

Freddie folded his arms over his chest. "What does this have to do with my project?"

"Project?"

Spencer looked confused.

"For Virtual Marketing? Dr. Franklin?"

Spencer shook his head. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, but Carly and I are HUGE fans of your web show. When you announced you were coming to Caltech, we knew that we wanted to ask you to do the team video. I looked you up and spoke to your freshman advisor. She was supposed to give you my contact information…."

Freddie stopped listening at "HUGE fans of your web show". He knew the show was popular from the amount of views but he didn't realize that it might possibly lead to anything more. However, he didn't have time to make videos for fun and if the team had no money, he knew he wasn't going to get paid.

Spencer was still talking and not wanting to waste any more of his time, Freddie simply said. "I would love to help but I'm only here to complete a class project."

"We could work around your schedule."

"Sorry," Freddie shrugged. "I can't."

"But…," Spencer looked back toward the team. "They want to go to Nationals. In Florida. Do you have any idea how much that is going to cost? The travel expense alone not to mention the hotel and…"

"Sorry, Spencer. I can't do it. You'll have to find someone else."

"I'll do it," Ethan volunteered.

"Do you have any experience?"

"Oh yeah," Ethan nodded. "My friend Benny and I post You Tube videos all the time."

"You Tube." Spencer didn't sound convinced.

"Problem solved," Freddie announced going back into the office to pack up his equipment, leaving Ethan behind to talk with the coach.

In his pocket his phone beeped with a text from Maddie asking about getting together Friday night.

Freddie quickly sent back a reply. This year was about priorities and even though he felt bad disappointing a fan or two, it was time to leave high school behind and move on with his life.

* * *

 **For those who are watching the tournament - I'm sayin Rock Chalk Jayhawk - one last time before my bracket is completely fucked.  
-Gemma**


	3. Chapter 3

**Updated: 3/28/16**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 **i call shots just do it like Nike**

It was Friday night and Freddie watched as Ethan spent nearly an hour getting ready for his big debut as the cheerleading team's videographer. Somehow his roommate had managed to convince the coach that even though his You Tube videos were all of him and his friends playing video games – he would have no problem filming and editing a highlight video to show the alumni.

Armed with only his iPhone, Freddie was highly skeptical that Ethan would be able to pull it off – but he didn't bother saying anything. Ethan was out of the room for a few hours, Maddie was on her way over and Freddie was looking forward to spending some time alone with her. Her recent texts hinted that more than studying might happen tonight.

Maddie was a very cool girl with a crazy sense of humor. She had cropped brown hair and a contagious smile. In an effort to impress her, Freddie made an attempt to clean up the room and even washed his sheets. He hoped she would appreciate it.

Maddie arrived promptly with her trusty messenger bag at her side. In faded jeans, a Manchester United jersey and half laced high top sneakers – she certainly wasn't dressed for sex at all. Freddie wondered if he had misinterpreted the texts.

Shit.

He washed the fucking sheets for nothing.

Ethan didn't hang around long. He winked at Freddie as he left for his first 'official' assignment, the tumbling clinic. As soon as the door was closed, an impish grin grew on Maddie's face.

"I thought he'd never leave."

 _Oh._ Freddie thought to himself as she shifted closer. _Maybe I did get it right after all._

Opening her bag, she removed a bottle of lotion. Handing it over to Freddie she began removing her jersey. He glanced down at the label: _100% Pure Grapeseed Massage Oil_

 _Hmmmmm_. His brow toggled as he opened the cap and put a dab on his hand.

"I don't know about you," Maddie continued. "But I am SO stressed out. It seems like the work never ends."

"Yeah," Freddie agreed, rubbing his hands together to work the oil through his palms.

Under her jersey Maddie wore a thin black cami. As she pulled her hair up and tied it in place with a rubber band, she moved so her back was toward him. Freddie used his pinky to slide the straps out of the way before placing his hands on her bare shoulders.

She let out a deep exhale as his fingers rubbed the tight muscles around her neck. Maddie sighed in reply as the built up tension began to fade. Freddie made the first move this time, letting his mouth connect with the sweet spot near her jugular. Her hand reached back and he felt her fingers thread through his hair. Freddie bit down gently against her pale skin as he moved his hands along her stomach. Fighting to get beneath the cami, which was tucked into her jeans, Freddie kissed just below her ear before breathing, "let's get this off," loud enough for just her to hear.

Her head turned and their lips connected as she pulled on her shirt with her free hand. Their tongues entwined as Freddie's hands cupped her small chest.

Maddie moaned into his mouth.

Before long she was in his lap, topless, her hands running wild through his hair as he sucked her tiny nipples. It was then that he heard his phone buzzing.

Taking it out of his pocket he, quickly glanced and saw that it was Ethan. Hitting ignore – and hoping Ethan would take the hint - he dropped the phone on the bed beside him then laid Maddie down her back as he continued to kiss down her body.

Thirty seconds later, when he was unbuttoning her jeans, the phone buzzed again.

Ethan.

Freddie hit ignore but Maddie was looking at him suspiciously.

"It's just Ethan," he told her, pulling down her zipper and preparing to remove her pants.

The phone buzzed a third time.

"You'd better answer it," Maddie sat up, covering her chest with a hand, her self-consciousness evident.

"This will just take a second." Furious with Ethan, Freddie grabbed his phone ready to send a nasty text. He looked at Ethan's first message.

 _Holy Shit! Guess who Beck's dad is!_

He scrolled down to the next one.

 _Tommy Oliver!_

Freddie pursed his lips for a second. Tommy Oliver? As in the most famous Power Ranger in franchise history?

The final text was a picture with the words: _You gotta get over here right now!_

It was a snapshot of, it looked like Megan, being held in mid-air by a tall guy with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. Freddie enlarged the picture to see the tattoos more closely.

He felt himself trembling when he realized that the star of one of his childhood obsessions and adult guilty pleasures was currently ON CAMPUS and all he had to do was get his ass over to the gym to meet him in person.

Freddie looked over at Maddie, with her plump lips and hardened nipples. He looked at her open jeans and colorful hot pink and white panties peeking out at him.

Then he looked back at the picture of Tommy Oliver.

The decision was obvious.

 **no FaceTime but the people want to Skype me**

A part of him felt bad letting Maddie walk back to her dorm, rejected and alone on a Friday night. Still, that didn't stop him from sprinting all the way across campus to the gym.

The guy at the desk didn't pay any attention to Freddie as he scanned his ID. Benson heard the pop as the door unlocked and he nearly ran over a few guys with gym bags coming the other way. Racing toward the basketball court (and making a wrong turn on the way) it was almost half past seven when he finally found the team.

The gymnasium was small and compact. They were working with about six mats all connected in a long column. The team was a line at the far end and there he was, standing halfway down the runway with both arms over his head.

Tommy freakin Oliver!

There in the flesh. Freddie froze in his tracks. He found it hard to catch his breath as he stared at the action star who he'd admired for as long as he could remember.

He could barely believe this was real.

"One more time," Tommy said to Carly. "Keep that arm straight."

From the other end of the mat, Carly took a few running steps and then placed her hands down on the mat. Her legs went over her head and then her feet landed on the mat. She threw herself backward and Tommy Oliver, gracefully and perfectly placed a hand under her back, lifting her just enough so her arms hit the floor instead of her face.

Landing on her feet, Carly shrieked and excited – "I did it!" while the rest of the team cheered.

Tommy extended his hand and they exchanged a high five. "One more," he told her.

It was then that Freddie saw Ethan waving to him. He wasn't sure how long Ethan had been trying to get his attention but at the moment he felt like a twelve year old fan girl for staring so long at the man, the myth, the legend: Tommy Oliver.

Taking the long way around, so he wouldn't interrupt Carly's tumbling, Freddie stood beside Ethan shaking his head in amazement.

"You should have warned me!" Ethan joked. "I would have worn my MMPR shirt."

"I had no idea," Freddie admitted. "Beck Oliver. Tommy Oliver. Who would have thought?"

"Right!" Ethan agreed, filming the next victim Tori.

"Very nice!" Tommy complimented her. "With a layout like that, you shouldn't have any problem getting a full. Try it again. This time with a half twist. Like this." He took her arms and held them straight over her head and then had her pull them in quickly, rotating her body.

Freddie stood there for hours, watching Tommy Oliver give corrections and advice to every member of the team. Except for Fred.

Even Benson had to admit the guy was phenomenal. The height of his flips alone was impressive. Apparently Tommy felt that way too because he asked Fred if they could trade tumbling skills for a day.

It was almost ten before they started putting the mats away. A few members of the team were standing around getting last minute advice from Tommy. Freddie shyly stood in the background, waiting for a chance to ask for a picture.

He caught Jade giving him a dirty look and he immediately looked at the ground. But a second later, she was next to him, a handful of his sleeve in her fist as she dragged him away from Tommy.

"Show's over," she hissed at him.

"I just wanted a picture," Freddie explained.

"Then buy a ticket for ComicCon!" She shoved him hard, causing Freddie to take a few steps back.

"Jade!" Tommy exclaimed as he began walking their way.

"He was going to bug you for a picture," Jade explained as arms folded and her hip stuck out to one side.

"Then let him bug me," Tommy extended his hand cordially toward Freddie. "Jade thinks she's my bodyguard."

The dark haired girl forced a smile as Tommy took Freddie's phone and handed it to Jade.

"Say Megazord," Jade gritted her teeth as she took the picture.

Freddie couldn't believe that he was standing next to Tommy Oliver. His mind was in overdrive and he wanted so badly to start a conversation but he was afraid that he might sound stupid.

"I've been a fan of the show for as long as I can remember," Freddie began.

"Thanks," Tommy grinned.

"I mean, it kinda changed my life," he said not caring how lame that sounded or that Jade was mock-gagging herself. "In high school, I wanted to be a director so I starting filming these two girls who wanted to do their own web series."

"Very cool," Tommy nodded his approval.

"I got better at the tech end of things than directing but I would love to work on show like yours someday. In any capacity."

"Believe in your dreams," Tommy said. "Anything is possible."

"So does that mean you'll pay for us to go to Nationals? Because that's my dream," Jade's eyes challenged his.

"I told you I would match whatever money the team raised through donations and fundraisers."

"We don't have _time_ to do all that stuff! "

"If it's important to you, I know you'll find time."

"Our bid video in due in six weeks and you saw what a mess our tumbling is. Our partner stunts are even worse!"

"Jade," Tommy placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know how hard you've been working to put together a good team."

"This is my last chance to go to Nationals!" Jade snarled.

Freddie wondered why the hell she was getting so bitchy with Tommy Oliver.

"Then this asshole decides he's 'too busy' to do our video," Jade threw shade and a nasty look at Freddie.

"I have a tough course load," Freddie replied defensively, trying not to look bad in front of Tommy Oliver.

"Yet you're here. For three hours now. It can't be that tough," Jade called him out once again.

"I don't think you understand how much work is involved in…,"

"I do. Believe me. I do."

Freddie looked at Tommy for help but the celebrity remained neutral. "I'm sure things will work out."

"Oh yeah?" Jade pointed to Ethan. "He was supposed to be filming us but instead he's been posting pictures of YOU to Snapchat," she looked at Tommy.

"Can I talk to you a minute? In private?" Beck grabbed Jade by the hand and yanked her away from the conversation. Even though they moved to the other side of the gym, they were loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Why are you giving my dad a hard time?"

"I wasn't giving him a hard time."

"Yes. You were."

"I was just asking him to make a donation so we could go to Nationals."

"You realize that my dad is not a bank, right?"

"Just because you don't like to ask him for money…"

"You still don't get it!"

"I do get it! He donates to charities ALL THE TIME!"

"That's not the same and you know it."

"You don't think we're a charitable cause? Have you seen Gibby's cartwheel?"

"Jade, I'm only gonna say this once. STOP ASKING MY DAD FOR MONEY!"

At that Jade stormed out of the gym, slamming the large metal door behind her. A thunderous BANG was heard as it hit the frame. Beck's hands clawed through his thick hair.

"Anybody want to get some pizza?" Spencer asked loudly to offset the tension.

* * *

So yes - a surprise cameo from Tommy Oliver (exclusive property of whoever currently owns the right to the Power Rangers).

This chapter is dedicated to the one and only ADJ - You are the best.


	4. Chapter 4

**A late disclaimer that I own nothing in this story except the plot.  
Updated 3/31/16**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 **if i do time then who would really write me?**

 _Go, Go Power Rangers. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers_

Freddie and Ethan were still living the high of meeting Tommy Oliver. The roommates were in day three of a Netflix binge. Even now they loudly sang the theme song with each episode. Ethan was wearing his dino morpher – vowing not to take it off until the watched every episode of the show. Freddie laughed at his roommate's dedication to the series. Benson had left his entire collection back home, though a teensy part of him wished he had brought something along with him. Maybe a few power coins?

"Shit!" Ethan suddenly exclaimed. "It's ten of!"

"What?" Freddie ripped his phone from his pocket to check the time. Ethan was right. They were both going to be late for class.

Rushing around the dorm like maniacs, they hastily put on their shoes and grabbed their bags. Running down the hall, then down the stairs and through the lobby they raced each other across the campus. Dodging students and various other obstacles they separated as Ethan crossed the street to get his literature class where Freddie went left to get to math.

Freddie was panting hard when he got to the building. The glass door felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds. _I really have to get in shape._ Freddie thought as he hung on the railing, preparing to race up the two flights of stairs. Heart pounding and legs aching he managed the first half at a jog but had to walk the second half.

Class had already begun when Freddie (still used to high school) attempted to sneak into the room. Warily looking around, he realized that no one was even looking. This was college. No one cared if he showed up to class.

Well, no one except Maddie.

He didn't exactly see her looking at him but caught the motion of her hair as she lowered her head, pretending to look at something in her textbook - even though everyone else was looking at the white board in front of the room. Seeing her made Freddie feel like a jerk for his actions on Friday night, not that meeting Tommy Oliver wasn't worth every moment of guilt, but Maddie seemed like a nice girl – the kind of girl that didn't deserve to be treated like that.

He sat down in an empty seat and took out his notepad and mechanical pencils. In hindsight he probably should have told her the truth instead of lying. But which was worse – being considered an asshole or a nerd? In Freddie's opinion nerd was worse. It was a label that he was trying really hard to lose. Being an asshole was different – it was something you could apologize for and be forgiven.

After class he would talk to Maddie and get this straightened out. No need to lose a decent study partner over this.

Study partner….

 _Study_ ….

 _Fuck!_ Freddie cursed as he watched the professor begin handing out the tests. He completely forgot about the exam today. _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_ He spent the last two and a half days watching fucking Power Rangers instead of studying. _NO! NO! NO!_ Freddie began to panic. He could not fail this test – he just couldn't.

He sent a helpless look Maddie's way, only to find that she was clearing off her workspace in preparation for the test. Benson buried his face in his palms as he cursed at himself one more time.

The test was three problems but you only had to do two, which was good because one of the problems Freddie had no idea where to begin. He finished the first problem with ease. It was something he and Maddie had gone over several times. The second problem was a variation of something they worked on in class but Freddie wasn't entirely confident in solving it. He second guessed a few times, erasing the answer and then re-writing it.

Time was up and he was one of the last ones left, which only drove home the fact that he probably bombed. Defeatedly he got up from his seat and placed his paper in the pile on the professor's desk without a word.

Out in the hall he slung his bag over his shoulder and began the academic walk of shame back to his dorm. Feeling like crap, the last person he wanted to run into was Valerie but somehow she managed to find him.

"I _finally_ got my phone fixed," she told him. Freddie mumbled something like, "that's nice." But to be honest he didn't really care. She rambled on a bit with way too many details about the whole thing, Freddie wondered how the hell he got stuck with someone like her.

"Look, I kinda got some stuff to do, so I'll text you later," Freddie told her, hoping she'd go the fuck away. But she didn't.

"Me too." She grabbed his arm and rising on her tip toes confessed into his ear. "But I've been thinking about your dick all day."

"Awesome," Freddie responded, not even close to being in the mood.

"My roomie's in class right now." Freddie felt the tug on his arm, pulling him in the wrong direction.

"Maybe later," Freddie pushed forward toward his dorm. "I'll text you."

"Okay," Valerie released his arm but jumped in front of him. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing," Freddie replied. At least nothing he wanted to talk about with her.

"Then what's up?" She countered Freddie's evasive action and stayed in his path.

"I'm tired."

"Oh! I have something for that." From her bag she produced a baggie of pills.

"Put those away!" Freddie hissed at her, looking around to see if anyone had been paying attention. The last thing he needed was to get busted for drugs. His mother would execute him herself.

"OMG!" Valerie burst out laughing. "Paranoid much?"

Benson gave her a glowering glare.

"They're caffeine pills," she chuckled. "One hundred percent legal and FDA approved."

"I'm not interested," he told her walking away.

"Benson!" she called after him.

Freddie looked over his shoulder ever so briefly to yell a reply when he felt himself collide with someone. Quickly focusing his attention forward, he was shocked to find that he'd bumped into none other than Carly, from the cheerleading squad. She'd been carrying a cup of coffee or something, which had spilled all over her teammate, Gibby.

"What the hell?" Gibby yelled looking down at his wet shirt.

"Gibby!" Carly snapped. "It was an accident."

But Gibby was already stripping on the spot.

"Wash it," he threw his shirt right at Carly's face. "And I want it back tomorrow." Then noticing how much attention he was getting, he flexed his pectoral muscles and with a grin sent a sly, "Hey ladies," in the direction of a group of girls.

" _You_ wash it," Carly threw the shirt at Freddie, who let it rebound off his chest and fall to the ground.

"It was _your_ coffee." Freddie kicked the shirt back toward her as he watched Gibby give out his number to a cute brunette.

"You really are a dick," Carly snapped back as she bent down to pick up the fallen shirt.

Behind him Freddie could hear Valerie call his name again and she was much closer this time. He turned his head toward her and was about to say something when he felt wetness seeping into his left shoe.

"What the…?" Freddie looked down at his feet, realizing that Carly had poured the remainder of her beverage into his shoes. The liquid seeped into the woven Flymesh. After his sock soaked up a bit he felt it sink into the triple density foam at the core of his sneaker.

"Bitch!" Freddie cursed at her. His 4 week old Nike Air Zoom Structures were now practically ruined as he stared down at the brown stain which was quite pronounced against the bright Green Strike color which had been his favorite of all the color options.

"What happened?" Valerie asked cluelessly as she finally joined them. "Someone needs to put a shirt on Peter Griffin over there. EW!" She made a face at Gibby and turned her attention back to Freddie.

Beyond angry, Freddie stormed off in the direction of his dorm with Valerie trailing behind him, begging for him to slow down. But Benson had used up all his patience and left her in his wake as the _squish squish_ in his sneaker sent him into a fury.

Going directly to the dorm's shared bathroom at the end of his hall, Freddie slipped off his shoe without untying it. Waving his hand under the motion sensor he started the faucet and attempted to wash off the coffee before the stain set. With the other hand he was frantically calling his mom to see if there was anything else he should do to save his precious Nikes. Aside from what he was already doing and treating the stain with detergent his mom didn't have any other useful information.

As she rambled on about the aqua aerobics class she started taking, Freddie went selectively deaf. He only paid enough attention to grunt one word replies during the appropriate pauses in conversation. Eventually they said their goodbyes and Freddie went back to his dorm. Rummaging through his laundry he used a dirty towel to blot his shoe dry with the hopes that it would be good as new.

In the meantime, Freddie decided it was Morphin Time as he cued up the episode he and Ethan had been watching earlier.

* * *

Thank you for reading. I assure you that no Nike Air Zoom Structures were harmed in this chapter. It was a pair of DCs...


	5. Chapter 4 and a half

**Updated 4/1/16**

* * *

 **Chapter 4.5**

 **i stay on y'all mind but, oh, i think they like me**

The text from Shannon came unexpectedly around midnight on a Thursday. The only reason Freddie was still awake was because Ethan had bribed him with off campus take-out food in exchange for help. His roommate's video project was a total nightmare.

Aside from there being only four guys on the diving team, the coach was a wacko and the video Ethan took was distant and grainy. He had to film from the balcony instead of down on the pool deck and to make things worse the angle of the video was quite unflattering to the divers. Not that Freddie was an expert on diving but he was fairly certain that his mom's aqua aerobics class was better than these guys.

That being said, even with the editing software from his web show, there wasn't much he could do to make these athletes look good. So Freddie cheated and used a ton of special effects that were so distracting you could barely tell what the divers were doing. Words scrolled across the screen as the divers went forward, reversed and forward again. They faded from color to black and white while Freddie included snap shots of campus that he'd taken during a visit last year.

Ethan sat back watching Freddie's every edit and marveling at his genius.

But when the text came, Benson decided it was time for a break.

Apparently Shannon and her boyfriend had finally ended things – which was long overdue. It was one of the things Shannon rambled on and on about during their pizza lunches. But the bottom line was, she was looking for rebound sex – and Freddie was certainly willing to let himself be used for a night.

In preparation for his sleepover with the lovely Shannon Kelly, he packed condoms, a toothbrush and clean underwear in his bag. Getting a fist bump from Ethan, Freddie headed out into the California night and made his way through the streets to her place. She was the only freshman Freddie knew who lived in an apartment off campus. He'd been there once before, feeling chivalrous he walked her home after their first lunch together. The gesture had certainly paid off.

He glanced down at his phone again. She'd sent a picture of herself which definitely sent his blood pumping. A sexy selfie shot of her in nothing but tiny little boy shorts standing with her back to mirror so he got a great view of her ass.

His pace quickened.

The roads were much too crowded for this time of night. The traffic lights seemed to stay red for much too long. His impatience at the distance had him almost jogging to her doorstep.

Almost.

Freddie knew that running would make him sweaty and that was not the impression he wanted to make tonight. Getting back to his normal gait, Benson went through his pregame checklist:

He had protection. Brushed his teeth. Reapplied his deodorant.

The top three items marked off, he relaxed and began to imagine what tonight would be like. He remembered that first moment when he saw her at orientation. He hadn't wanted to get involved with anyone but Shannon was the exception. Freddie had been slightly embarrassed at his own disappointment when she mentioned having a boyfriend.

Obviously that was now a distant memory as he pressed the intercom button and announced his arrival. There was a second buzz as the door to the building unlocked. Up the stairs, down the hall, next to last door on the right side, Freddie tapped his knuckles against the door.

"Who is it?"

After the game of announcing himself and making several incorrect guesses at the password, Shannon finally opened the door and let him inside.

Her tiny studio apartment wasn't much bigger than a dorm room but she had ten times the stuff crammed inside. The basics of a kitchen; range, fridge and sink were stuck in one corner along with a small set of cabinets overhead. A tiny bathroom and hall closet took up another corner. In the center of the room was a futon and a coffee table that was being used as a desk.

"This reminds me of IKEA," Freddie commented noticing the amount of hooks and storage shelves attached to the walls.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Shannon replied taking his bag and placing it in the only empty cubby along the far wall.

"Sorry to hear about ….," Freddie began realizing instantly that instantly that he shouldn't start the night by mentioning the break up. But Shannon took it in stride.

"It's for the best," she said taking a deep breath. "I'm ready for something new."

"Me too," Freddie agreed, relieved that she didn't make a big deal of his little blunder.

With a smile on her face, she moved closer reaching her arms around his neck in a loose hug. "It's nice to have a friend like you in my life."

"Yeah," Freddie agreed, sliding one arm around her waist. "But shouldn't I be the one making you feel better?"

"You already have."

When she brushed her nose against his cheek, Freddie responded by lowering his mouth to hers for that first kiss. It was soft and gentle with no hints of reservation from either of them. So he pressed forward, hands roaming up under her shirt and to the claps of her bra. At the same time he felt her hands on his shoulders, then moving down his chest.

The midnight desire was in full bloom and Freddie cupped a bare breast with one hand while the other reached for the hem of her loose fitting tee. One handed, he tried to get her shirt off which resulted in a pleading, "help me," as he somehow managed to catch her long hair.

"Sorry!" Freddie winced as his second error of the night. It wasn't like this was his first time but it was his first time with Shannon. Maybe that's why things were a little awkward.

As she freed herself from her top, Freddie attacked her chest with his mouth. Lapping at her pink nipples with his needy tongue, he could hear her breath hitch again. Her chest was much fuller than Maddie's and Valerie's although you would never know that from her conservative style when it came to clothing.

Pulling her with him, Freddie pressed her down against the futon mattress. He took a second to look over her porcelain skin which freckled slightly across her nose, cheeks and shoulders. Her long gingery hair fell in waves over the throw pillow.

"You are so fucking hot," Freddie said, tongue rolling across his lips where the taste of her kiss lingered.

"So are you." She bit at her bottom lip as she reached for his ass pulling him in between her legs.

As he descended, Freddie reached an arm behind him, grasping a handful of his shirt and pulling it over his head. In the brief second it took him to undress, Shannon's expression transformed from sexy to lustful.

 _Nice_. Freddie thought to himself, leaning into her for more mouth to mouth. Pressing into her, he kissed her again molding his lips to hers. Her hands went up his arms to his shoulders, than across his shoulder blades to his neck. Freddie dug his arms into the mattress beneath them. Caressing the warm skin of her back while holding her close to him, he ground his hips against body.

"Time to lose the shorts," he whispered in between kisses.

With confident hands, he slipped them down her long legs, trailing the journey with tiny pecks from his lips. Leaving them wrapped around her ankles, Freddie smiled to himself at her completely naked body, noting to himself that it really was true about red heads being red-haired _everywhere._ Bending at the wrist Freddie' s wandering fingers traced the seam between her legs slowly. Pausing to add pressure against her clit, he felt her hips move against his hand.

" _oooohhhh."_

Her pleasure escaped as Freddie slipped his thumb inside her teasingly, only to remove it and press it against her clit again. Her pelvis tilted upward as she begged for more. He continued this methodology for a while hoping she'd come but he wasn't quite that lucky.

She did get very wet though.

Her warm breath panted against the skin of his neck. Catching onto her cues, Freddie took a minute to get the appropriate protective gear from his bag and 'dress' himself accordingly. As he leaned back down, Shannon eagerly rolled her hips up and into him. Freddie gasped at the warmth that surrounded his cock.

He began slowly, trying not to get too aroused. A former lover's teasing of _one pump chump_ had left a scar that he wasn't sure would ever go away. So he made a moderate attempt at restraint but Shannon wasn't having that.

Her nails dug into him and her boney pelvis slammed into him – _hard._ The sudden impact caused a complete dissipation of Freddie's intended pace. Giving into his libido and Shannon's demanding pussy he gave it everything he had. Freddie lost himself in the cadence fucking her harder and harder. He wanted to hear her scream or yell his name or make some kind of sound to let him know she was feeling as good as he was.

When he was approaching his own finish line (very aware that she hadn't reached orgasm yet) he made the mistake of opening his eyes to look at her.

His thrusts screeched to a halt, like a tractor trailer about to jackknife. The sight before him was so inhuman he cringed with revulsion. Shannon's eyes were wide open but rolled back into her head, leaving only the bloodshot whites of her eyes balls showing.

"What the hell!" Freddie exclaimed, pulling halfway out of her.

"Don't. Stop." Shannon panted, her nails digging into the flesh of his bare ass and forcing him back inside of her. But her eyes hadn't changed at all and Freddie was getting really freaked out by the whole thing. Flashbacks of horror movies with demonic possession plotlines immediately permeated his conscious. Squeezing his eyes closed and trying to make the sight of Shannon's heinous face disappear he felt her hips lift up against his impatiently.

But that couldn't change the fact that now all he could think about were those gleaming alabaster orbs with their crimson veiny lines in her eye sockets. He shuddered, choking back the disgust he felt as his arousal all but vanished and he had to fight keep himself there.

With the interruption, it took him much longer than usual to get back to where he was. Which, normally would have been a good thing but of course he made the mistake of looking at her again. Freddie cursed at the grotesque absence of eyes and quickly looked away. Burying his face into her neck he fought the urge to verbalize the "ewwwww" that was on the tip of his tongue.

Despite Shannon's enthusiasm, for the first time in his entire life...

Freddie Benson faked an orgasm.

* * *

Not

Shannon Kelly makes a cameo (exclusive property of the BBC and a little show that I love called WOLFBLOOD)


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 **Clean pair of sneaks, with A-Ds on her belt**

"Like this?" Ethan asked Freddie as he pulled down on his cheeks, exposing the inside lining of the skin beneath his eyes as he rolled them up into his eyelids.

"Yeah," Freddie grimaced at the freakish sight. "It was fucked up. I mean, who the fuck makes faces like that when they're getting fucked."

"Maybe it's a ginger thing?" Ethan laughed as he browsed through the movie choices, cueing up the perfect one for his roommate.

In the distance the microwave let out a faint ding. Freddie opened the door and removed the bag of popcorn. As he walked back to his seat, shaking the bag with each step, he let out a resigned sigh at the inactivity on his phone. Not that he didn't want to hang out with Ethan but it would have been nice to have some options.

"What's this?" Freddie asked, settling in to his gamer chair and opening a bottle of soda.

"The Scissoring."

"Ugh," Freddie grumbled. He wasn't a fan of the cult classic.

"Halloween is in a couple weeks, Bro," Ethan reminded him. "Just trying to get into the spirit."

Freddie shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth as he watched the opening credits. The camera panned through a graveyard as the actors' names scrolled across the screen. He was mid-chew when a familiar name caught his attention.

 _JADE WEST_

"Jade West," Ethan read aloud exchanging looks with Freddie. The boys were both thinking the same thing – what a strange coincidence.

As the movie progressed and the raven haired character, Tawny Walkerblack, said her first line, Freddie and Ethan leaned closer to the screen.

"No way," Ethan glanced Freddie's way again. "That can't be _her_ can it?"

"I doubt it." But Freddie was studying the character on the screen. The resemblance was there but the movie was made well over a decade ago. It was hard to envision what the little girl might look like now.

"I gotta know," Ethan took out his phone and began searching the internet.

"Want me to pause it?" Freddie asked, looking for any excuse to stop watching it.

"You don't have to."

"I don't want you to miss anything." Freddie's thumb tapped the mouse pad. He selected one of the _Galaxy Wars_ movies and began playing it. _Much better_ he thought to himself.

It was several minutes later that Ethan uttered, "Holy Shit! That **is** her. Check this out." He shoved his phone in front of Freddie. "Hit play."

Benson tapped the screen as a video called _Jade West says TUCK OFF._ The description was a ComicCon date a few years prior featuring the director and a two cast members from The Scissoring. Ethan and Freddie both leaned forward watching the video and the trying to make out the garbled audio. There were three people seated on the panel, none of which Freddie recognized, except for possibly the dark haired girl in the center.

The video was long and the shot of the girl wasn't that great.

"I don't think that's her," Freddie told his roommate.

Ethan scrolled down through the comments to the one that read, _'Is Jade West really dating Tommy Oliver?'_

Ethan looked at Freddie. "You think they dated?"

"I dunno," Freddie shrugged. "Weird shit happens in Hollywood." Although Freddie had a hard time believing his icon, Tommy Oliver, would ever do something as scandalous as dating an underage actress. But, it would explain the riff between Jade and Beck the other night…Why was he even letting himself think about this?

About three minutes into the video, still scrolling through the magnitude of comments, the audio changed to loud cheering.

"Wonder what happened?" Ethan said as he scrolled back up to the video and went back a few seconds.

There it was on the screen in black and white, a close up shot of someone walking out onto the stage. It was without a doubt, the Jade West, they knew from Caltech.

"That's her!" Ethan yelled pointing to the screen. "Holy shit that's really her!"

From the black leather boots to the ripped teal colored tights beneath her kilted mini skirt, there was no doubt in Freddie's mind that he was going to school with a movie star. And not just that – but she actually knew who he was.

Although, she did think he was an asshole…

But even so….Was it wrong that he was thinking how to use this to his advantage? Maybe get a job on a movie set somewhere? Or behind the scenes? He'd do anything. Camera work. Special Effects. Hell, he'd even be the coffee bitch if that's what they wanted.

But yes, there she was, doing a back flip off the stage. The screen freezing as her skirt flew up, revealing her black boy shorts with TUCK OFF in bright white lettering.

Another video cued - _WE CHEER 4 JADE WEST_ –

"Skip that," Ethan instructed Freddie as an ad began to play. Less than a minute, Freddie was shocked to see the bitchy captain of Caltech's cheerleading squad sitting beside none other than the Puckett twins in what looked like some kind of gymnastic school. There were mats, bars and a balance beam in the background.

Turning up the audio, he listened to their conversation.

"Please tell us!" the twins begged. "Please!"

"I'll _die_ if you don't tell us," one of them said.

"Well," Jade's lips twisted into a devious smirk. "I suppose I could tell you _but_ I need a promise from you in return."

"Anything!" they chorused.

"I want you to promise me that you will both cheer at Caltech next year."

"Caltech?" Sam grimaced. "That's a Division III school."

"We wanted to go to Kentucky," Mel told Jade.

" _I_ want to you to cheer with me at Caltech," the raven haired girl stated. "If you commit right now," she held out pieces of paper to both of them. "I'll answer your question."

The twins exchanged glances, then they both reached out for the contracts in Jade's hand.

"Isn't it hard to get into Caltech?" one of them asked.

"Let's shut this off for a minute," Jade said smugly, head growing larger as she approached the camera.

At that point the video cut out to a blank screen, with a few visual effects of stick cheerleaders and a little music that Freddie recognized as Caltech's fight song. Words dropped down from the top of the screen, labeling each of the stick figures with a name. Sam. Jade. Mel.

The figures transformed into a live feed again, only now the twins were wearing Caltech tees shirts with matching bows on their heads.

"Tech on three," Jade called, reaching out her hand. The twins each put a hand on hers as the black haired girl counted, "One, Two, Three…"

The trio screamed "Tech" as they lifted their hands in the air, followed by synchronized back flips.

"How do you go from being a cult film star to a cheerleader?" Ethan asked Freddie.

Freddie didn't know the answer to that but he certainly had a few questions of his own for Jade.

 **Please watch your step cause I'm feeling myself**

Camera in hand, Freddie stood by the track watching the team run their laps. He wasn't surprised that everyone ignored him. Well, everyone except the red head who smiled and waved at him as though nothing had happened. Even the coach had kept his distance, strategically moving the opposite direction each time Freddie attempted to approach him. Most would have considered this a burned bridge and moved on by now. But Freddie knew that there was much more at stake that a grade on his project. By some miracle he had to find a way to talk to Jade. He'd eat a giant slice of humble pie and get down on his knees and beg if that's what she wanted – and let's face it – Jade was the kind of person who would want to see him humiliated – but he was willing to do just about anything to get back on her good side, uh, if she had one.

He waited through the entire practice noticing that there wasn't much horseplay today. The team seemed tired but focused. Freddie filmed as much as he could from afar, waiting for the right moment to approach Jade.

The sun had fully risen by the time Coach Shay called it. The tired cheerleaders limped back toward the pile of their belongings. Walking in small groups, they drank from water bottles and wiped the workout sweat from their faces. Freddie made his move, waiting by the gate where they would all exit.

As Jade walked by him, flanked on either side by the twins, Freddie joined them.

"Excuse me Jade, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked nicely.

Jade kept walking.

The closest twin gave him a dirty look.

"I wanted to apologize," Freddie increased his volume slightly.

"Fuck off," Jade snorted as she slid the hair tie holding her pony tail down its length freeing her black hair.

"I know you think I'm an asshole," Freddie continued ignoring the comment.

"You _are_ an asshole," Jade confirmed. The twins nodded their agreement.

"I'd like to do your team video," he said as moved in front of Jade, making her stop for a second. "No charge."

Jade snorted out a laugh, sidestepped and continued walking with Freddie on her heels.

"You know I'm more qualified than anyone else on this campus. I can make this team look as good as …," he paused glancing over at the twins. "Kentucky's team."

Jade kept walking but he'd gotten the attention of one of the twins.

"Not without some major CGI," she sighed rolling her eyes.

"I have some serious editing skills," Freddie told her. "In fact," he glanced at Jade who was already several paces ahead of them. "If you tell me when your next practice is, I'll film some of your stuff and prove it."

The twins looked at each other.

Freddie bit his lip, waiting for their reply.

"Today at three. In the gym."

"I'll be there." Freddie agreed happily.

The rest of the morning dragged on for Freddie despite the distraction of his classes. He found it hard to pay attention to the lectures and instead of taking notes he began envisioning the shots he wanted to film. He did a minimal amount of cheerleading research watching the Puckett twins' other videos on their YouTube page. While it was mostly tutorials on how to do various cheerleading and tumbling skills, they also had several years of videos of entire routines. Freddie watched a few of the more recent ones to get an idea of how to shoot this type of video.

What he found was that there wasn't much to it at all. The videos were all taken at a distance, so you could see the entire performance area. There were no close ups or angled shots involved - which made watching it very boring. Freddie decided that he would take a few artistic liberties to set his video apart from the rest.

At lunch he returned to his dorm, scarfing down a granola bar and an awful-tasting protein shake for lunch – he was determined to maintain the body that it took him two years of working out to develop – while making sure all his equipment was charged, organized and ready for action. He only had one chance – and Freddie was going to make it count.

He arrived at the gym fifteen minutes early. There were a handful of guys inside playing some half court ball. Freddie remembered how the mats had been set up the night the team had tumbling and checked the lighting and the sound. The gym's caged fluorescent lights were better than he expected and the test video he took of the guys came out fine. They gave him a few curious looks but none of them said anything. Checking sound next, he found that the gym echoed horribly as would whatever music they were using. He took out his phone and noted that he needed a copy of music so he could add the audio independently.

By 3pm he was prepped and ready to go but there was a small problem…

No one from the team had arrived for practice yet.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

By 3:30, when the guys cleared out and the women's volleyball team began setting up their net Freddie realized that Jade had lied to him about practice. She never intended to give him a second chance.

Bitch.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **Throw a flag on the play, man somebody get the ref  
** **  
**For an entire week afterward it was all Freddie could think about. He didn't mean to obsess over what a fucking bitch Jade West was and how stupid cheerleading is to begin with but the thoughts kept pestering his mind. Clearly she did not know how talented Freddie Benson was with a camera or else she wouldn't dare treat him like she had.

All through his lunch date with Shannon (who incidentally had gotten back together with her boyfriend) he complained about Jade. He managed to smooth things over with Maddie (turns out they'd both aced that test after all) and he used her as a sounding board as well.

He told anyone who would listen – his roommate, his entire floor, everyone in his classes, basically anyone who was within earshot – knew how Freddie felt about Jade's superior attitude. Even, the previous night when Valerie stopped by for a quick fuck, he'd gone off about Jade.

But as he ran his mouth over and over – the thought of any of this ever getting back to Jade – never crossed his mind.

Until…

He was standing in line at the milk machine, waiting to fill up his daily bowl of Cheerios, when she caught him by surprise. Freddie heard the sharp edge of her voice as she hurled a challenging, "You got something to say to me, Benson", right in the middle of Tuesday morning breakfast.

"Uhhhh," Freddie turned slowly to face her. His knuckles whitened around the edges of his tray as he feared she might dump the cereal over his head.

Jade stood there with her arms folded across her chest. In black flannel pajama bottoms, decorated with patterns of white pairs of scissors, her combat boots and a tight fitting black tee with the logo from _The Scissoring_ written in red ink mimicking blood, she scowled the ugliest, scariest face he'd ever seen. An expression that clearly meant, _I'm going to murder you._

Shannon's mutant eyes were like rainbows compared to this.

The normal murmuring of morning chatter subsided and Freddie felt the sweat form on his brow at the deathly silence in the room. Jade's deep eyes, stared into his and it felt as though she was setting him on fire from within. His entire body was burning from the inside and he could feel the hot flash rise up to his face.

"I'm waiting." She tossed her head slightly, displacing the uncombed tangles in her hair even further.

It took every ounce of courage Freddie Benson had to look her dead in the eyes.

"You're a fucking bitch, Jade."

The words were there but not his tone. His voice cracked a little when he dropped the F-bomb which he was certain gave off the impression of a kitten attacking a tiger. Adrenalin began to pulse through his body causing him to shake. Freddie's body trembled so badly that the juice in his cup began spilling all over the tray.

"You can't treat people like shit because you're a fucking movie star."

That sentence came out clearer and with more force.

"I offered to help you but you lied to me and your entire team didn't bother to show up. I expect an apology."

Freddie almost didn't believe those words came from his mouth but from the gathering crowd he knew it had to be true. Several of his fellow students turned to Jade, awaiting her response.

"It's okay for you to invade _my_ privacy. It's okay for you to _use_ the squad in your little 'project' video. It's okay for _you_ to show that video without our permission under the guise of market research for a school assignment. It's okay for you to _use_ us again to live out your little fan boy dreams during a _private_ coaching session with Dr. Oliver but the second I tell you that you're an asshole and to fuck off– suddenly _I'm_ a bitch _._ "

Freddie tried to swallow but there was something stuck in his throat. "Well, yeah," he managed to say. The onlookers seemed unimpressed with his response.

Jade looked him up and down one more time before walking away.

Freddie barely got his tray down on a table before his dropping it. He looked around to see students madly texting on their phones.

Never in his life had Freddie had the balls to confront someone like Jade on his own. As he walked out of the cafeteria – using the other set of doors – he felt an odd sense of accomplishment. Maybe he wasn't getting a job in Hollywood anytime soon but he didn't care. He'd gone head to head with Jade West and survived.

 **Go blah la la la low, man somebody get some help**

In less than an hour, the video of their argument had over five thousand hits.

Freddie sat in class, watching the guys in front of him watching the video. The confidence Freddie felt earlier was fading as he saw the multitude of comments posted beneath the video, most of which included speculation about him being Tawny Walkerblack's next victim.

More interesting though was the original video he made of the Caltech team, which he'd posted fifteen minutes ago in retaliation, now had its link posted within the video description.

Interesting.

Freddie wondered who took the initiative to make that connection. He checked on the video from his end and it only had about a twenty hits and one comments. During the class that number grew and grew. His e-mail account was blowing up with notifications.

Freddie smiled smugly.

After class, he returned to his dorm only to find his roommate was in a terrible mood.

"What's up with you?" Freddie asked.

"Sarah _supposedly_ has a boyfriend," Ethan replied with a frown.

"That sucks." He knew that his roommate liked Sarah and had been agonizing over asking her out but Freddie never thought he'd actually do it. Ethan was more of a talker than a do-er.

"How was your day?" Ethan asked sarcastically. No doubt hoping Freddie had an equally crummy day.

"I think I made history," Benson stated getting his phone out to show Ethan the videos.

"No fucking way!" Ethan exclaimed watching the argument between Jade and Freddie multiple times. "I really thought she would have stabbed you or threatened you or something."

"I think you've watched The Scissoring one too many times."

"I can't believe she just walked away like that," Ethan continued.

"Well, she did."

"She didn't say anything else or…," Ethan restarted the video. "Have anyone with her."

"I didn't see anyone," Freddie answered, which now that he was thinking about it did seem unusual. He'd never seen Jade without the Puckett twins by her side. But it didn't phase him – he stood up to a bully; something he'd never done before – and he was very happy with himself.

Until about two hours later when he received a call from Mr. Shepherd the Vice President for Student Affairs. That phone call was the probably the worst fifteen minutes of Freddie's life. As he hung up the phone he was holding back tears.

Under advisement from her attorney, Jade West had formally filed a complaint against him. Freddie was supposed to meet with Mr. Shepherd and Jade's lawyer in two days. The Vice President had asked Freddie to remove his video of the cheerleading squad from all social media as a show of good faith – until the issue was resolved.

Freddie complied immediately.

For the next forty eight hours, the only time Freddie left his dorm was for class and for food. He barely spoke with anyone – including Ethan. He didn't return texts or calls. He basically dropped off the grid using all his extra energy to find ways to avoid being expelled from college and by some small miracle, keep his scholarship. He also prayed that his mother would never find out about this – even though he knew there would be no way to hide this from her.

Freddie practically had an ulcer by the day of the meeting from worrying. He arrived fifteen minutes early and took a seat in the waiting room of the Student Affairs office. Promptly on the hour one of the administrative assistants walked him back to Mr. Shepherd's office.

The man rose from his chair to greet Freddie, shaking his hand warmly and introducing himself. The bookcases around them were cluttered and overstuffed, making the room seem much smaller than it really was. Freddie felt the sweat run from his armpits. He was fairly certain his deodorant wasn't up to the job and before the end of this meeting he was going to have large perspiration stains on his shirt.

Mr. Shepherd didn't need to introduce Freddie to the other person in the room. Coach Shay sat there quietly, shaking hands more as a formality than amicable gesture. There was no lawyer present which lifted a lot of weight from Freddie's shoulders.

Freddie came to the conclusion that this was probably not the first time that someone got into it with Jade at Caltech but he didn't fully understand why Spencer was there, unless this had something to do with the whole team.

"Mr. Benson," Mr. Shepherd addressed him first. "As you are aware this institution has policies regarding the privacy rights of its students."

Freddie nodded.

"The video taken by you on this campus involving the members of the Caltech cheerleading team is subject to the standard practices regulation found in the Student Handbook on page ninety seven…"

Spencer handed a thick manual to Freddie so he could follow along. After spending way too much time reviewing the written policy, Mr. Shepherd was one of those administrators who thrived on rules and regulations, the man looked up at the clock and promptly shut his copy of the handbook.

"I have a lunch appointment," the vice-president announced, as he slid his chair backward, picked up his briefcase and made for the door. "You two can finish up without me."

Relief spread through Freddie's body. There had been no mention of expulsion or discipline of any kind. Was it possible this was just a warning? He turned to Coach Shay, who had looked as though he may have dozed off at one point.

Freddie was just about to ask Coach Shay if there was anything else they needed to discuss, when Spencer pulled out his own briefcase filled with what looked like legal documents.

 **Pull up on the block  
**  
"Are those from Jade's lawyer?" Freddie asked, swallowing hard. There was _a lot_ of paper.

"Yes," Spencer looked at him curiously.

"I thought he was supposed to be here," Freddie continued.

"I'm representing Jade," Spencer told him.

"You're a lawyer?" Freddie said incredulously. "I thought you were just a cheerleading coach…"

"Just a cheerleading coach? Ouch." Spencer repeated, clearly insulted by the comment.

* * *

Apologies - getting married in 28 days and planning this wedding has been exhausting... Gemma


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 **Hit the Quan, Hit the Quan, Hit the Quan, Hit the Quan**

The next month was quiet for Freddie who resorted back to his old ways, his quest for popularity long forgotten. He spent most of his time with the guys on his floor. There were video game tournaments, Netflix binges and plenty of pizza to go around. Focused solely on his classes, Freddie's GPA soared.

But his sex life plummeted.

Maddie was insistent on just being friends. Now they studied with a group and never in anyone's dorm.

Shannon and her boyfriend had gotten engaged. Now all she talked about was wedding stuff which was why Freddie began skipping their lunch dates.

Valerie had moved on to other guys which wasn't exactly shocking news.

By Halloween, Freddie has resigned himself to the fact that college was going to be just like high school. For the most part – he was okay with that. He was Freddie Benson – the tech guy.

But then Carly Shay showed up at his door and everything changed.

He hadn't thought about Jade West or cheerleading at all since that meeting with Student Affairs. It would be accurate to say that he blocked the whole ordeal from his memory. He signed the papers agreeing to the terms set by Miss West – which were practically that of a restraining order for a stalker – and let that be the end of it.

Until Carly sat on his bed and cried her eyes out begging for him to help her, seeming to forget the last time they saw each other she called him a dick and spilled coffee into his shoe.

Or was Freddie being petty holding a grudge for that?

"You don't understand," Carly sobbed. "The bid video has to be in the hands of the UCA office in three days or else we can't compete at Nationals!"

"I do understand," Freddie handed her a handful of McDonald's napkins. "But since you think I'm a dick, I don't see why you'd waste your time asking me for a favor."

"I don't think you're a dick," Carly's eyes widened innocently.

Apparently Carly had selective amnesia.

"You poured coffee in my Nikes!"

"Ohhhhh…." The lightbulb finally clicked in her thick cheerleading skull. "I'm sorry about that. I was having a bad day. Are your shoes okay?"

"Well, yeah – but that's not the point! You can't do that shit to someone and then expect them to do something to help you."

"I said I was sorry," Carly looked at him with oversized eyes, the kind that create weakness in the Y chromosome. Freddie looked away. He was not giving in to this girl. That whole squad could go to hell – he was not helping them get to Nationals.

"Please."

She looked so fucking pitiful sitting there with the shimmer of tears on her cheeks.

 _NO._ Freddie told himself. _Find an excuse. Say anything. Camera's broken. Too busy with school._

"I'm not allowed within a hundred yards of Jade." _Why the hell did I say that?_

"We can work around that," Carly sniffed. "Please. _Please."_

"What part of - _I will be arrested if I go anywhere near Jade_ – isn't clear to you?" Freddie stated. He opened the door trying to get her to leave, fully aware that was only way to get out of this situation.

"All we need is video of a few partner stunts," Carly wiped her eyes. "It doesn't need to be a video of the whole team."

"I'm not going to jail so you can go to Nationals," Freddie told her.

"You won't go to jail. I promise," Carly stood up and approached him. "We wouldn't even have to tell Jade." She paced back and forth thinking. "We can do it secretly. Off campus somewhere. Maybe the high school. I'll call over there and see if we can use their gym. …." Carly paused. "If we can't…," she frowned. "I'll think of something." She smiled reassuringly. "I promise that Jade will never know." She crossed her heart.

"NO." Freddie held firm. His answer was set. There was nothing Carly could do or say to make him change his mind. Although a very brief scenario where Carly proposed sex in exchange for a video played through his mind.

But she didn't.

Instead she took a minute to compose herself before launching into the next level of her quest: Flattery.

"Forget about Jade because this isn't about her," Carly began. "It's about you and all the incredible things you do behind the camera. You're a natural at this. When I watched your web show – it wasn't always about the skits or the costumes. It was the creativity in the shots. When I saw your project video, not the one you showed us but the real one you submitted to the Athletic Director. You made a minute and a half of nothing into something. You made us look – _good._ You're an absolute genius, Freddie Benson. I know that making a bid video for Nationals isn't resume-worthy but it would mean so much to me."

She played to his ego which, given its current state, was like finding a Rita's Water Ice franchise in the desert. For a moment Freddie genuinely considered making the video. Then the reality of knowing that he wouldn't just be helping Carly, in a way he'd be helping that bitch Jade too, he couldn't bring himself to say yes.

"I appreciate the compliments, Carly. But I gotta pass on this. Sorry."

As Freddie began to respond, he saw his roommate coming down the hall on his way back from class so he hastily added, "But, I'm pretty sure Ethan would be willing to give ya a hand. Right E?" Freddie handed the situation over to Ethan before making a quick exit.

Saved by the roommate.

 **I said get down low and swing your arm  
** **  
**Four hours later Freddie was back in his room with Ethan, wasting away the night with video games and tacos.

"Carly's hot," Ethan remarked seemingly out of nowhere. "Why didn't you want to help her? I mean, if she would have even considered letting me do the video – I'd be on that in a second."

"Carly's alright," Freddie shrugged, not wanting to agree completely. "But Jade's a bitch and I…"

"Dude!" Ethan interrupted. "Take a lesson from Disney and fucking let it go."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm fucking sick of hearing you bitch about Jade fucking West," Ethan threw down his controller. "You bring her up every five seconds!"

"I haven't talk about Jade in weeks," Freddie snorted. "What's your problem?"

"Definitely NOT Jade West," Ethan grabbed his jacket and headed out into the hallway.

"What the hell?" Freddie called after him. "You gonna finish the game or not?"

Ethan didn't reply.

"Douche," Freddie mumbled at the silence. He continued playing alone for quite some time before he heard footsteps coming toward the door. Turning around, expecting to see Ethan – Freddie was surprised to see someone else standing at the threshold.

"Hello Benson," the guy said. His lips pursed together in an "ew" as he observed the filthy state of the dorm room.

"Nevel, right?" Freddie replied. He sighed at the thought of the many visits he would probably get from the team. He wondered if Jade knew anything about this.

"Nevel Papperman." He extended his hand but as Freddie reached out to shake it, Nevel suddenly pulled his hand away. "Is that dirt?" he asked.

Freddie looked at his palm. "I think it's ink." He licked his index finger and began to rub the smudge. As it smeared across his skin, Freddie confirmed to Nevel, "Just ink."

Nevel grimaced, folding his hands together. "I'll make this brief," he announced, stepping lightly as he entered the room – as though he expected land mines to detonate any second. "I understand that Carly Shay was here earlier."

"Yeah," Freddie shrugged. "She stopped by."

"And what did you two discuss?" Nevel turned sharply, staring at Freddie suspiciously.

"She asked me to film some cheerleading thing...,"

"The partner stunt bid video!" Nevel's voice inflected accusingly.

"That sounds right," Freddie stared at the strange little guy standing there in his polo shirt, Dockers and loafers. "But I told her I couldn't help her."

Nevel's face twisted into an irritated scowl. "What's it going to take, Benson?" He reached into his pocket and removed his wallet.

Freddie's eyes widened at the amount of cash inside.

"Keep in mind that I am fully aware of the fair market value of your services."

A crisp hundred dollar bill found its way to Freddie's hand.

"Consider this a deposit," Nevel confirmed. "You'll get the rest when the video is done."

Freddie stared down at good old Ben Franklin. _Shit._ He was holding a hundred dollars in his hand and that was only a portion of what he was going to be paid.

"Do we have an agreement?" Nevel's beady eyes locked upon Freddie's.

Freddie cursed to himself again but cash was _cash_ and when he thought about all the things he could do with a couple hundred dollars…

"I have one condition."

Nevel raised a single brow.

"Jade West never finds out about this."

"Done," Nevel agreed instantly.

 **I said get down low and hit the Quan**

By the following day Nevel Papperman had made all the arrangements. He communicated the time and place to meet via text. It meant Freddie had to cut class, but as Benson was doing so well academically he figured missing one English class wouldn't be a big deal.

He strolled through the parking lot with his equipment to where Nevel and Gibby were waiting alongside Papperman's brand new BMW took one look at the car and wondered how Gibby was going to fit inside – let alone himself, Carly and his equipment.

"She's running late." Nevel let out an irritated snort at the text from Carly. "We'll pick her up in front of the dorms. He directed everyone to the car. Gibby had to adjust the passenger seat until it was pressed flush against the back seat, leaving no leg room. Freddie was able to fit most of his equipment in the tiny trunk but only with Nevel's help. He was fortunate enough to sit behind Nevel, who even with the driver's seat pulled almost all the way forward (he wasn't the tallest guy), Freddie still felt cramped in the tiny car. He kept his head down for fear that Jade might be lurking nearby and see him with her teammates.

But staying under the radar with Nevel driving at five miles an hour and Gibby blasting music wasn't going to happen. Freddie kept an eye out for the cheer captain as they made their way around campus to the small lot by the dorms.

That's when Freddie's saw Carly Shay.

It's hard to explain the degree of disconnect his brain experienced at the sight of her long legs and the tiny cheerleading skirt.

He stared.

Realized he was staring.

Blinked.

Then began staring again.

"Hurry up!" Nevel yelled. Carly dashed to the passenger side of the car. When she opened the back door – she hopped into the seat, folding her legs beneath her and sitting on them, since there was no room for them anywhere else.

The drive to the high school was quick, with essentially the only conversation taking place between Carly and Gibby as they reviewed what they were going to do once they were in the gym. Freddie listened, although he didn't understand a word of what they said.

They checked in at the main office and then went directly to the gym. Nevel and Gibby went to the locker room to change as Freddie began to set up his equipment. Carly jogged a couple laps around the basketball court and then began stretching.

Naturally, Freddie watched her every move.

Carly's skirt was very short and anytime she moved he could see the metallic orange shorts she wore underneath her uniform. When she removed her warm up jacket, he swallowed hard. Despite the top having long sleeves, it was a half shirt – showing off her stomach.

High school cheerleaders didn't wear uniforms like this.

From a tiny zippered bag, she removed a pair of pristine white sneakers. Sliding her feet into them, she jumped a few times on the wrestling mat beneath her. Not up and down jumping – but the style of jump that her legs were in a wide straddle.

This was definitely worth skipping English.


End file.
